Fleeting Joys - Occult Radiance (2009)

Sacramento-based shoegaze duo Fleeting Joys play a moody variation on the noise-pop blueprint drawn by bands like My Bloody Valentine, writing sweetly longing tunes filled with blown-out guitars and hazy vocals. Their self-issued 2006 debut, Despondent Transponder, slowly gained an underground cult following, and the duo occasionally resurfaced with additional releases such as 2019's Speeding Away to Someday.

Married couple Rorika and John Loring began playing music as Fleeting Joys in 2005, with Rorika playing bass and electronics, John handling effects-saturated guitars, and both duetting on vocals. After making an appearance on a Clairecords CD sampler, the duo released their debut album, Despondent Transponder, on their own Only Forever Recordings in 2006. A second album, Occult Radiance, was issued in Japan in early 2009, later followed by an American edition with different cover art and an altered track listing. The duo's music gradually spread throughout the world, and their debut was given limited CD and vinyl reissues during the early 2010s. A single titled "Kiss a Girl in Black" appeared in 2013, and third album Speeding Away to Someday finally arrived in 2019. A second vinyl edition of Despondent Transponder was issued in early 2021. ~ Paul Simpson